Liddell marks Oakwell return with quick fire goal

Report by John Patrick Heeley

Andy Liddell marked his return to Oakwell with a goal within the first two minutes of the game.

The goal, his 7th of the season, meant more to him than the previous six and boy could you tell.

Liddell spent 7 seasons with Barnsley before joining Wigan in a £300,000 deal nearly 4 years ago and hadn't been back to Oakwell since.

Also in the Wigan line up was on loan right back Nicky Eaden who signed professional terms with the South Yorkshire side at the same time as Liddell but remained at Oakwell for 2 further seasons before he flew the nest himself to join Birmingham City.

Paul Jewell made one change to the side that started the previous weekend against Peterborough with Paul Mitchell dropped to the bench to make way for Tony Dinning who returned to the squad after completing a three game ban for his sending off at Colchester.

The goal came along as many were taking to their seats with Nathan Ellington finding ANDY LIDDELL on the edge of the Barnsley penalty and with his first touch of the game Liddell buried the ball past Andy Marriott in the home goal.

Latics continued to press forward and Liddell saw an effort blocked by former Stockport County defender Mike Flynn two minutes later after combining again with strike partner Ellington.

Moments later Jason De Vos saw his header cleared off the line by recent signing Keith Curle as Wigan were tearing lumps out of the Barnsley defence and it came as no surprise when the second goal arrived in the 11th minute.

The impressive Scott Green sent a right wing cross to the far post where MATT JACKSON rose unmarked to head home his first ever goal in a Wigan shirt.

Wigan were now cruising and Jason Jarrett looked to be a cert for adding a third goal when he carved his way through the Barnsley defence but with only Marriott to beat his final touch saw the ball go out for a goal kick.

Barnsley's first real chance of note fell to former Ajax midfielder Dean Gorre who fired a free kick over the bar in the 17th minute and the Dutchman sent another effort well wide of the mark 4 minutes later.

Jarrett saw a shot well saved by Marriott after 25 minutes and the keeper, who made two appearances for Latics while on loan from Sunderland two seasons ago, denied Ellington a minute later.

De Vos blocked a shot from young substitute Griff Jones two minutes after the interval and Gary Jones brought a decent save from John Filan a minute later.

At the other end of the park Andy Liddell saw a long range drive saved by Marriott.

Barnsley were then reduced to 10 men when Mitch Ward received his second yellow card of the afternoon for a foul on Lee McCulloch.

The 31 year old midfielder was far from happy at his dismissal and needed to be escorted down the line to the tunnel by the fourth official.

Nicky Eaden went close to mirroring Liddell's return to Oakwell when he fired over on the hour mark after being put through by his former Barnsley compadre.

Five minutes later and it was all over bar the shouting when Ellington's right wing cross was met by the head of SCOTT GREEN and into the back of the net it went.

Green raced to the Wigan fans massed behind the goal, ripped off his shirt and was immediately mobbed by a number of the Wigan faithful who'd leapt over the barrier to join in with his celebrations.

Barnsley grabbed a consolation goal straight from the restart when a Gorre free kick found KEVIN BETSY in the area and the striker headed home for his first goal for the club following his £200,000 move from Fulham six months ago.

The goal was too little, too late to stop Barnsley from crashing to their first home defeat of the season, leaving them only two points clear of the drop zone and sparking protests from the home fans who called for the resignation of chairman John Dennis.

Depsite the win Wigan dropped to fourth in Division Two with Oldham Athletic leapfrogging them on goal difference following their 4-0 home win over Huddersfield Town.

Andy Liddell will now serve a three match ban for his dismissal at Tranmere meaning that he misses Wednesday night's Worthington Cup clash against Premier League side West Brom and the crunch league games against current leaders Cardiff City and Plymouth Argyle.